Self help techniques by Julian Cowen Hill

Self Help techniques

Julian has outlined nine invaluable techniques for you to use. Each has a specific purpose. If you would like more detailed descriptions they are available by request.

Tension Releaser

This technique focusses you on your body. After 15 minutes you will notice how your mind settles, body relaxes, and how much better you feel. This is also the perfect remedy for sleeping difficulties.

Lie down and get comfortable with cushions and a blanket. Focus on your feet and:

1. notice what you can feel in as much detail as possible

2. clench and relax

3. feel any reaction to the clenching

Then focus on the next muscles - the calves and apply steps 1, 2, and 3 to them. Continue up the body focussing on all the muscles, not forgetting your neck and facial muscles.

Mind Decelerator

This technique is perfect for calming a busy head, and slowing down frantic or worrying thoughts.

Lie down and make yourself comfortable. You should allow at least 10 minutes for this technique.

Out loud give a running commentary on sensations in your body as they arise.

There are always thousands of feelings coming up all the time.

Describe what is warm/cold, tight/loose, tingling/pulsating, in contact with the floor/air, comfort/discomfort, etc.

When a thought process takes over, simply go back to the body and start describing what you are aware of at that moment, out aloud. Keep on going. Move on to the next sensation.

If nothing comes up, wait for a few moments. After 10 minutes you will feel much more grounded and relaxed.

What Feels OK?

This is the simplest and quickest technique, but possibly the most transformational.

Most people are good at focussing on pain, and yet forget to focus on positive feelings. Learn to "water the roses instead of the weeds!". Become "half-full" rather than "half-empty". The moment you practise this, something improves, and overwhelming situations become more manageable. Find out for yourself.

Ask yourself (as often as you can), "What feels OK in your body right now?"

Then answer it!

Discover what parts of you feel warm, strong, clear, comfortable, free, flowing, smooth, calm etc.

Notice which part of you feels the best. If there is plenty of pain, feel what is going on elsewhere. There are always areas that feel fine. Find them!

Know that you always have this to focus on. Your nervous system will thank you for it.

Find Your Space

This is a great all-round relaxer, and particularly good for people who feel dizzy, claustrophobic or anxious. You need at least 10 minutes for this. Try and answer these questions without moving. Notice how you feel from the inside.

Lie down on the floor and get comfortable under a blanket. You are going to explore the dimensions and location of your body. Lie with your arms out either side to give you an extra sense of contact with the ground.

Focus on your legs and how they are lying. Do they feel the same length and height as each other?

Does one feel larger than the other? Do your knees feel closer to your hips or your feet? You may notice that they rarely feel the same, and feel different every day.

Does it feel a long way from the top of your head to your toes? Sometimes this may feel much shorter than others. How long or short are you feeling right now?

Is your body flat and even on the floor, or does your head feel higher than your feet, or one side lower than the other. Do your arms feel an equal height and length?

Crisis Calmer

This brings instant relief in moments when you feel really anxious, upset, angry, out of it, - when things feel a bit overwhelming.

Place your feet into a bowel of hot water for half a minute. Make sure its not too hot for your feet.

Then place your feet into a bowel of cold water for half a minute.

Carry on for a good 10-15 minutes moving from one extreme to the other. You may need to top up with fresh hot and cold water after about 5 minutes.

This unavoidable stimulation on your nervous system takes you out of your head and centres you in your body.

Notice how this quickly helps things feel more manageable again and back in touch. Now would be a good time to do one of the above techniques to relax you further.

Breath Balancer

Sit comfortably.

Start blowing out of your mouth with your lips pursed together.

Keep on going until you definitely want to inhale again, then stop.

Close your mouth, and as you stop notice how your diaphragm changes position.

Then let go, and let the air rush in through your nose all by itself.

You do not need to do anything at this stage.

Having blown out, the air will come back in just by relaxing with your mouth shut.

Do this 10 times, as often during the day as you can. It will help your body learn how to breathe through the belly with practice.

Pain Releaser

You should attempt this when you have mastered Tension Releaser and What Feels OK? above.

Lie down and get comfortable. Identify what feels OK in your body.

Find the part of you that feels best of all and describe it out aloud to yourself in as much detail as possible.

Briefly become aware of the place that is painful, then go straight back to the place that feels best of all. Connect with this positive place for a good half minute. You may need to describe it out loud to help yourself focus on it.

Revisit the pain, but this time identify where it is, and how far it extends. Where is it no longer painful around the edges?

Then go back and connect with the positive place for a good half minute. You may need to describe it out loud to help yourself focus on it.

Revisit the pain and this time notice any movement there. You will notice that it might be throbbing, pulsating, or moving around. Maybe it is trying to spread out, or open up in some way.

Then connect with the positive place again for a good half minute. You may need to describe it out loud to help yourself focus on it.

Revisit the pain for the last time and feel where its core is. There will always be a part that is particularly noticeable. Which bit exactly is it?

Then finish by focussing on the positive place for a good half minute. Pain is there to grab your attention. You may start to understand more about pain and release it if you give it your full attention.

Find Your Focus

This technique is useful for people who are spaced out and lack clarity. Allow at least 15 uninterrupted minutes.

Lie comfortably and become aware of your body.

Find out which part of you feels best of all and describe it out aloud. This will serve as a positive anchor. Work through each bit of your body by clenching and relaxing and notice which parts are numb.

When you find a part that is numb, notice where the edges of this numbness is.

Work you way around the edges and make a mental note of where they are.

Move back to the positive anchor and check that you can feel it clearly. You may need to describe it out aloud to help you focus and connect with it.

Then carry on exploring other numb areas in your body in the same way. Always finish by focussing on your positive anchor - the part of you that feels best of all.

From day to day you will notice how certain areas of numbness change and gradually fade away the more you visit them. The need for your nervous system to keep things anaesthetised will lessen if you practise this regularly. You may well feel more together as a result, and cope with challenges more efficiently.

Decision Maker

Lie down and get comfortable.

Practise the tension releaser and the mind decelerator above to get yourself in a calm and connected state.

Bring up one of the situations into your mind that you have to consider.

Really imagine your body being there in that situation, with the smells, feelings, views, sounds etc. Don't picture yourself from outside the situation. Be right there in your body, imagining what its like through feeling. Once you feel connected to the situation, make a mental note of how your body feels.